If you told someone a year ago that the iconic Star Wars Battlefront series was coming to the Nintendo DS, you could have expected an incredulous response. "What? One of the most complex, dynamic, and sophisticated game franchises ever to bear the Star Wars name is coming to the most low-fi, low-spec game system on the market? Do you think me a fool? They may as well make Battlefront for the Atari 2600!"
Yet here we are. Battlefront is indeed on the DS, and n-Space has made a valiant attempt to shoe-horn the familiar game elements of the series into the system resources available. The problem is that you're always reminded of these limitations while playing. Elite Squadron doesn't feel like it was made from the ground up for the DS, but more like a larger game that's been run through a trash compactor.
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For a service that has only just launched, the library is truly incredible and surprisingly broad, offering a far larger selection than the majority of digital film content providers. The number of films available is set to grow exponentially, with SCEE's President and CEO, Andrew House, telling GI that he expects "about an additional 50 movies per week" to arrive on the store. The US Video store grew 700% from its launch one year and three months ago, a promising trend which House intends to emulate.
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In Japan, Muramasa: The Demon Blade sold 47,000 units. Arc Rise Fantasia reached 45,000 units and poor Little King's Story only reached 26,000 units. Little King's Story did a little better in North America where 26,000 units were sold and performed best in Europe racking up 67,000 sales. Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga, which came out in September, only reached 16,000 units in North America.
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"GameStop opens 6am Friday, November 27th. Doorbuster deals valid 6am to 11am only. All other deals (unless noted) run all week.
Here is a quick summary of GameStop Black Friday gaming deals:"
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Do you remember the PSP (Playstation Portable)? It was the Sony portable game system that boasted 480 x 272 pixel resolution, 16.7 million colors and a 333MHz processor. Technically, it sounds like a pretty awesome system, right? The portable device has seen several iterations all brandishing a futuristic label like the PSP 1000, the PSP 2000 or last year's PSP 3000. Gamers could also take a break from gaming to watch full-length feature films on the ultra-wide screen. So, why is it that a system that sounds so cool to play on the go (which just happens to be the latest PSP branding scheme - PSP Go) has faired so poorly in the gaming market?
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When LucasArts released the first Star Wars: Battlefront game back in 2004, players got a boots-on-the-ground feeling in the Star Wars universe. It's now, 2009, how does the latest installment stack up?Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron follows the tale of two brothers, both Jedi clones, named X1 and X2. As the Dark Side's power grows, the brother find themselves on opposite sides of the battle with X1 fighting for the Empire and X2 helping the Rebel Alliance. The game takes place over the course of the Star Wars films, with clips and characters from the older and newer films.
Compared with the previous entry in the Battlefront series, Elite Squadron offers "deeper" customization than any of the previous Battlefront titles. But with customization now standard on so many titles, a good game needs more than the option of character changes.
Loved
Variety Is The Spice of Space: Elite Squadron takes the fight into space, allowing players to fly X-Wings and board Star Destroyers. The inclusion of a galactic front in the series, opens up the title — makes it feel bigger. You go from blaster Stormtroppers on Tatooine to barrel rolling TIE Fighters in space. It really encapsulates the Star Wars experience.
So Epic: The great thing about Elite Sqaudron is the scope — players travel from Tatooine to Hoth to Endoor. The game is epic! Just like a Star Wars title should be. But at the same time, it does give players the feeling of experiencing the smaller side of a larger battle — just like a Battlefront title should
We Are Online: Elite Squadron has robust multiplayer, and The Heroes and Villains mode is a welcomed addition, giving players the chance to play as Stars Wars heroes or bad dudes. The other online modes, such as Galactic Conquest, offered replay value once the single player campaign is finished.
Hated
The Controls Are Outta Control: There's no way around it, controlling the camera and the character by using the PSP's analog stick is a bad idea. Why not control the character with the directional pad? Oh right, because I'm using it for all sorts of input controls like getting into spaceships and whatnot. The controls could be and should be streamed lined — they feel dated. There is nothing wrong with complex controls when they add to the experience. Here, they don't. They detract. It would make more sense to have the character controlled with the direction pad — not just for camera issues, but for control issues. The analog numb on the PSP often lead my character all over the place, jumping too far, running too far, missing my landing spot. Unfortunately, the Alternative Controls are even less instinctive than the Default ones.
Been Here Before?: And as previously mentioned, the inclusion of space battles, provides a variety in gameplay, but some of that variety gets stale in the single player campaign. Missions seem to be either shoot guys on foot, use Ion Canon, then fly away or fly away, use Ion Canon and then shoot guys on foot. A pattern develops and becomes old.
The addition off space battles and the new multiplayer mode show that there is still innovation and room for the Battlefront franchise to grow. But for it to truly blossom, the basic control mechanics are in need of an overhaul. I fear the dark cloud of clunky controls shrouds all Elite Squadron.
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron was developed by Rebellion Developments for the PSP and published by LucasArts on November 3. Retails for $29.99 USD for the PSP as well as for the Nintendo DS. A copy of the game was acquired via PSN digital code for reviewing purposes. Played through single player campaign and tested multiplayer.
Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.
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Okay, I'm not going to beat around the bush, I think we've got a cracking line-up this week…and if you all moan at me this week, you will have crushed my last bit of faith in humanity:)
For PS3 users you can get hold of Critter Crunch (trial and unlock) and Invincible Tiger, as well as the demo for Smash Cars, there are two packs available for Dragon Age: Origins (that's my weekend gone then) and a host of other content too.
Oh, did I mention a certain Snake makes an appearance this week too…we finally have the PSone classic Metal Gear Solid available!
Also, I think you PSP owners will be feeling some love this week with titles available such as LittleBigPlanet, Assassin's Creed Bloodlines, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, The Warriors and plenty more. There are also two further minis on the store this week, Echoes and Pinball Dreams; for the full list of this week's content have a scroll down.
There will also be a couple of titles made available this coming Tuesday (24th of November)…I was going to be mean and keep you waiting but I wouldn't do that to you all :) . Therefore on Tuesday you'll be able to get hold of Gravity Crash (both the full game and a trial & unlock) and for LittleBigPlanet an Assasssin's Creed costume will be available too.
Leave comments as usual, but please keep in mind that I don't work on the Video Download Service, so I won't be supplying answers about that…
Have a good week!
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"Stand down, soldiers. SCEE's just sent us a Kaz Hirai quote from the Sony business meeting is was confirmed PSN was getting subscriptions today, which confirms that online PSN gameplay is to remain free."
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Sony's gaming division should start seeing profitability by the tail end of their 2010 fiscal year through cost reduction and "operational efficiencies", Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer told a gathering of press and analysts today."Our work is already bearing fruit," Howard said, according to the Associated Press. "We still have more work to do."
After its second year of losses in the current fiscal year, which ends March 2010, Stringer said that Sony's target is to turnaround their game business and have it be profitable by March 2011.
The company plans to use a two-prong strategy to achieve that goal. Sony believes they can improve profitability through cost reduction, becoming more efficient internally and getting internal divisions to work better together.
Sony also sees a growth in hardware, software and network services pushing sales up in the gaming division.
Stringer says that Sony's Playstation 3 has five key advatages: The incorporation of a Blu-ray player, the Playstation Network, PSP linkage, upcoming 3D games and their recently announced motion controller.
The Motion control, he said, uses the Playstation Eye camera, can track depth, position and motion by "sphere, gyro and acceleration sensors" and vibration feedback and "rendition by light."
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